Harkin, Hatch Call on FTC to Investigate Dietary Supplement Ad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Allison Dobson/ Maureen Knightly
HARKIN, HATCH CALL ON FTC TO INVESTIGATE DIETARY SUPPLEMENT AD
Washington, D.C.-In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) called for an immediate investigation into a newspaper advertisement for the dietary supplement ArthroZyme that may violate federal laws governing all supplements. The ad, which ran last week in the Washington Post, made unapproved drug claims regarding the product's effectiveness.
"We have regularly urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce appropriately and effectively the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)," the Senators wrote in a letter dated March 12. "In that spirit, we are writing you today to urge prompt action to address an advertisement that appears to violate the claims provisions of DSHEA.

"As you know, among the consumer protections in DSHEA is a prohibition against claims regarding the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease by products marketed as dietary supplements. The content of an ad that appeared on page A9 of today's Washington Post for a product known as "ArthroZyme" clearly appears to violate DSHEA and other provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act by making apparently unapproved drug claims regarding the product's efficacy for treating arthritis. Indeed, it is readily apparent that the ad makes many drug claims for the product. For example, the ad claims the product is 'anti-edemic (prevents swelling, fluid retention)' and provides 'all day and all night effective Arthritis pain relief.'

"We ask the FTC and FDA to review this ad immediately and take appropriate enforcement actions."